


A Pen in Both Hands

by Idgahufflefuck



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Little bit of angst, lucretia has a lot of bittersweet feelings, lucretia's friends love her, magnus accidentally finds the perfect candlenights gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-15 22:10:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11240274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idgahufflefuck/pseuds/Idgahufflefuck
Summary: Lucretia has used a lot of notebooks through the years, many of them given to her by her friends. (It's a good thing her job means writing so much because I get the feeling she would be a Journal Person even if it didn't.)





	A Pen in Both Hands

Lucretia started her journey with five notebooks. They were large and official looking, solidly made to the exacting tastes of the IPRE-- red leather binding embossed with the Institute logo, thick hardy paper bordering on card stock and designated sections for sketches and pockets for notes from the rest of the crew. These were notebooks for making history and she couldn't help treating them like something precious. (The first time Taako got food stains on one when he grabbed at it to get a better look at her drawings Magnus thought he might have to physically restrain her from attacking.)

By the end of the first year those notebooks had been filled to bursting.

\--

A few days into the next cycle Magnus came to find her in the mess, looking simultaneously sheepish and incredibly pleased with himself.

"Hey 'Cretia," he smiled and slid a simple red notebook across the table. "I bought this for you while I was down doing recon today. Wanted to get you sometjing for backing me up with the Power Bear. I know it's not as nice as your old ones and now I'm thinking about it maybe I shouldn't have picked something work related, but--"

"Magnus," she interrupted him, smiling. "Thank you. It's perfect, really."

\--

After that whenever any of the crew needed a gift for Lucretia notebooks became the default. Davenport laughed about it being a little on the nose and Barry asked her every year if she was _sure_ she didn't want something else for her birthday but Lucretia couldn't have been more pleased. The first Candlenights they gave each other gifts she laughed for five minutes as she opened six journals, one after the other.

She had always been someone who loved the feel and potential of a brand new journal. As the years went by these gifts from her friends became more precious to her than any she had ever bought for herself.

To be sure, some of the books she never would have picked, given the choice. She flat out refused to carry the fantasy Lisa Frank ones Taako gave her for her birthday of the fifth year her in public. But in the privacy of their home she filled them with observations of their little family. And if she caught him in her study, drunk and smiling like a sentimental sap, reading them over in the middle of the night she certainly wasn't going to tell anyone.

In year seventeen Lup gave her a notebook bedazzled with small crystals in the shape of a beautiful songbird and a small pack of multi-colored sparkly pens. Lucretia whistled that year while she wrote because, although she never would have picked it for herself, she loved it. Not only was the cover lovely, the paper was sturdy, size perfect and even the lines were extra-narrow to fit her preferences.

Year thirty Lucretia almost cried when Davenport presented her with a beautiful dark moleskin book. They had always been a favorite of hers, but an indulgence she rarely allowed herself as she was concious of the ever shifting needs of the Starblaster's budget. She ran her fingers over the soft, sturdy cover every night as she finished her days work soaking in the elegance and the powerful feeling it gave her-- as though the words within might really change the world one day.

As a scientist Barry appreciated the practicality of the strong, sturdy basics. However, in their fifty-first year he did manage to find both a journal and a pen that were treated for use underwater. She couldn't think of a situation in which that would be necessary but, seeing the excited gleam in his eyes, she promised to try them out as soon as possible.

Merle's gifts were sporadic to say the least. Often he gave them to her months before or after her birthday and she never knew what was in store for her with him. In fact, year fifty-five the crew recieved an anonymous package of fifty basic composition notebooks. After many puzzled looks, and after they recruited Magnus to carry the package back to the mess, Lucretia and Barry agreed they would split them and ask their missing party members about it whenever they got the chance. (It wasn't until year fifty-six that Merle admited to it, laughing and telling them that he swore he'd included a note.)

Whatever her friends gave her found a place in her collection and quickly filled with the stories and statistics of countless worlds. Year after year her collection grew until, one year, it didn't.

\--

Lucretia rolled her shoulders and looked around her moonbase office and sighed. When had it gotten so dark? She got up to flip the lights on, taking the chance to stretch her sore back and legs before humming a small reassurance to the baby voidfish in the corner. Once she was settled back into her chair she flipped listlessly through the small mountain of paperwork still left from the Lucas Miller disaster. She had just decided to shove it into a drawer to deal with at a more reasonable time when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called, expecting Davenport or maybe one of the seekers with more papers for her. To her surprise when the door slid open it was Magnus with his shoulders hunched like he was worried he might not fit through the door and a pleased grin on his face.

"Lucretia!"

"Madame director please, Magnus. I _am_ your boss."

He waved that off and slammed a small, hastily wrapped package on the desk in front of her. In answer to her blank stare he gestured for her to open it. "It's your new Candlenights gift! I know you won't use the first on-- which, believe me, is a mistake-- but it didn't look like anyone else got you anything and I had some free time so I made you this"

Lucretia smoothed back the wrapping paper and stared down at the notebook in front of her. Magnus had clearly learned how to bind together pages in the last few years and, while it wasn't a particularly neat job, she could tell it would hold. The cover was a beautiful dark stained wood carved with an intricate border of constellations. In the center was the Bureau of Balance logo filled with some sort of shining resin. She clasped her hands in front of her to keep them from shaking.

Magnus' steady stream of chatter started to take on an uncertain edge as he tried to gauge her reaction. "I know it's not really a fun present but I don't really know what you like and no one else seems to either. But I saw your book you wrote Taako's recipe in looked kind of old so I thought maybe this was at least something you'd use? Anyway, I should probably go. Need to feed Steven and all, you know." He shuffled his feet and turned towards the door.

"Magnus? Thank you." She was rewarded by the spring in his step as he left the room. As she listened to his whistling fade down the hallway she traced a gentle finger around the bureau symbol. Her eyes were heavy and dry with tears that she had been unable to shed for many years now. "It's perfect... really"

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyy guys. I'm back from a weekend of vacation and instead of working on the next chapter of Let Angus McDonald be a Child I've got this. I scribbled it up on my phone and didn't edit maybe as hard as I should have but I hope you enjoy. As with anything I write constructive criticism is totally welcome if you feel like it. 
> 
> I'm themackenziemachine on tumblr & hufflefuckup on twitter. Hope you all have a good week this week!


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